Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by beerad666:

Had this beer at Cooper's Bar in Chicago. It was poured from a 11.2oz bottle. Poured a light hazy orange with a big white fluffy head. The aroma was very fruity, typical of a Belgian. When I took my first drink I thought the hops were going to stand out more, but they only mildly appeared as an after taste. For a beer called "Hop It" I was a little disappointed, but it was hard to believe that this guy was 9.5%... well masked.

More User Reviews:

A beer I really looked forward to and was left wanting a little more,poured a light golden color with a fluffy white head,very herbal and medicinal aromas with some Belgian yeast spicieness more Belgian than Pacific northwest for sure.Flavors are really medicinal and spicey with an English-like herbal/minty finish that lingers for awhile."A supremely hopped Belgian ale" it maybe but a mix of Magnum,Saaz,and Spalt dissapoints a lover of Amarillo,simcoe,and cascades like me.A well made beer but not a real hop dream like I had hoped if u like Belgian yeast and medicinal hop you will like it,remeinded me of De Ranke XX wich Iam not a big fan of.

Appearance  This one poured a light but opaque orange in color with a moderate head that showed amazing retention. If filmed the inside of my Chimay chalice as it went down, then stopped with about a quarter of an inch left.

Smell  This nose started off tight but opened up into a complex array of hops and Belgian yeast. Theres a strong leafy bitter side to this bouquet that reminds me of something like Brutal Bitter. The fruits and spices are light.

Taste  Ka-pow! This one will knock your socks off. The spicing goes buck wild at the taste, and the hops are huge. This has some PacNW IPA mixed in with the fine Belgian yeast and creamy malts. Man, the flavor just lingers for a mile. This is a tremendous and unique mix of traditional BSPA flavors with a kick of American hops. Damn, its downright piney.

Mouthfeel  This is a tad larger than medium-bodied with some heart-stopping bitterness and really, really tight European carbonation.

Drinkability  I dont know if Ill ever get a chance to try another unique BSPA like this. Urthel is one of my favorite Belgian breweries, and this offering just blew me away. Its not often that a brewmaster can do something so bold and have it come off so well. Great job, Urthel!

Presentation: Served up at Maduro in a charming Urthel Tulip, which features a little dwarf, his front lawn, and the various ABVs of their beers.

Appearance: Luscious golden body with a perfect head. ¼ inch skim lasts the entire lifespan of the beer and lacing is simply marvelous all around the glass. I think the shape of the tulip has as much to do with this as the beer itself. It just looks great.

Aroma: Sweet, light, and fruity. Strawberries, peaches, pineapple, banana, and yogurt. Some lemon acidity and the hint of a backstage hop presence.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Strawberry-banana smoothie. Sweet front and middle with tons of fruit and a creamy texture. Finish on the other hand is blisteringly hoppy and extremely bitter. Its an odd bitterness too. It leaves the lips and most of the tongue be, hitting the back of the throat and palate instead and boy does it pack a wallop. It bites, burns, and causes that little dangly thing in the back of ones throat to ache. Atacama dry finish.

Drinkability: Starts out very nice but after a while the hops in the finish really start to get at me and the feel of the beer becomes rather unpleasant and quite mixed up. The creamy fruity front just starts clashing with the dry, hoppy, super bitter finish, especially as the beer warms to room temp. By the end of a glass I am not reaching for another. On the other hand, this would be a gem for the end of a long session as I would find the varying sensations appealing at that point.

A: Pale orange color with a thick white head that stays along for quite a while and leaves plenty of lacings as it slowly settles.

S: Rather mild with a malty note of wheat crackers, Belgian style yeast, dry earth and pleasant hop notes of grass, orange and lemon. Some phenols.

T: The taste is sweet at first with light flavors of malts and bread crumbs. Some yeast and earthy hop aromas. Upon swallowing, the beer basically becomes a mess: unbalanced herbal bitterness, citric hop notes and medicinal phenols. The finish is basically just some bitterness and spices coupled with lots of sweet and almost burning alcohol. The taste of alcohol lingers on forever in the mouth, and in this case this is not a good ting.

M: Moderate body, quite a lot of carbonation. Somewhat dry finish.

D: This one didn't fare well with me at all. It wasn't very hoppy, at least not in terms of aromas and flavors. It's just unbalanced with a horrible finish of bitterness and poorly integrated alcohol. Can't really figure out what they were thinking when they brewed this one. Not recommended.

Belgian IPA huh? Interesting. Very excited to give it a shot. Poured into oversized wine glass, it left a tremendously fluffy off white 3 fingered head that stuck around over the half hour that I drank it. Poured cloudy straw color not as golden as I expected. Upon first sniff, I didn't get much. A little hops and a little spicy notes, but after it warmed up the citrus hops really came though. First sip was belgian yeasty and some bitterness on the finish, Left a medicinal taste in my mouth-very earthy. I decided to let this warm for a whole and was very happy after about 10 minutes. The hops really came though to balance the sweet malt. Good citrus and spice flavors all the way through and the yeasty/earthy flavor faded into the background, but did not disappear altogether. Mouthfeel was very smooth but the yeasty flavors lingered on the swallowing. Very interseting beer, I would try again and give other Belgian IPAs a chance.

Pours a pale blonde color. Smells of your average Belgian pale. As for taste, it IS quite hoppy, but with not much of the fruitiness of an American IPA. It's really an average Belgian pale, with a nice hoppy bite. Mouthfeel is quite full, with nice carbonation. I could drink a lot of this, but for the price.

Overall, a very good beer here. Won't replace, say, Celebration as my IPA of choice, or La Fin Du Monde as my Belgian pale of choice, but it's still a good combination of my two favorite styles of beers.

Pours a straw color with a MASSIVE white head that takes 3-5 minutes to subside. Leaves lots of sticky lacing.

Aroma is farmy with corriander and cloves. Taste is funky, with definite belgian qualities. Typical wheats, cloves, corriander, banana with earthy hops adds up to a definite funk. Mouthfeel is a little on the light side with over carbonation. Fine enough to drink.

Corked and caged large bottle, brought by my house by mntlover for our tasting session on 1-18-06. Many Thanks, Brian, for this one! Pours into a tulip glass a cloudy golden body, with an enormous, snowwhite, pillowy head that quickly becomes pitty and rocky. Extreme carbonation is evident, as thousands of tiny bubbles rush around toward the surface. Lacing is exceptional, in large sheets and island chain patchy lace.

Aroma is fascinating. Herbal, spicy, and floral. reminds me of a Saison, or biere de garde. Peppery, with earthy notes. Very pastoral in its bouquet. Mild earthy yeastiness is accented by a note of coriander, quickly eclipsed by a fresh and leafy minty menthol and catnip. Fresh rosemary leaves add even more intrigue.

Mouthfeel has a light medium body with effervescent carbonation.

Taste is herbal and spicy, much like the nose. Lots of fresh leafy hops here, producing a complexity of earthy, floral, and herbal flavors. Coriander and white pepper jump into the finish, lending a wild flower character to the body. Very much like a good Saison, or biere de garde.

Extremely drinkable and highly recommended. The alcohol content is nowhere noticed. Dry, herbal, crisp, and refreshing. The addition of American Northwest hops here, adds even more complexity.Very nice!

Large bottle, caged and corked, w/o freshness dating....according to the label this is Belgium's/Urthel's/ Hildegard's "homage" to the hoppy brews of the USA. I had the pleasure of meeting Hildegard and her friendly hubby at ASN's Ultimate Belgian fest last night. Since this is the melding of 2 of my favorite styles this beer is one of my favorites. Cloudy, dull light orangey amber, near white head, pillowy and leaving a thick tiny bubble film, as well as world class lacing and gooey sheeting. Nose is of spice, yeast, and light gin. This is exquisitely tasty and complex stuff. Notes of white pepper, yeasty phenolics, fruity and crisply hoppy late. Magnum, spalt and saaz hops seal the deal. Ah , cultural diffusion! Belgium/USA I want more of this classy brew Ill buy a case of bombers the first chance I get!

Picked up a bottle of this at Julio's...
Pop the cork with ease and first pour, straw yellow in color with a tremendous amount of bright white head...give it time to settle and a generous amount remains on top. Thin, sporadic lacing produced.
Bottle states to enjoy chilled, but it was not until it warmed that the nose shows up in this one...mildly sweet with banana, spice and some grassy aroma.
The taste is just what you'd expect...a bitter, hoppy pale with corriander adding a nice spiced quality and a sour characteristic in the finish. This beer is warming, but the alcohol is very well hidden.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, the carbonation is a bit high, but it goes along with the hop bitterness that sucks away any wetness that may remain on your pallet, with each sip.
A very unique offering...

Pours a nice golden color with a huge white head. Smell is yeast along with some citrus aromas and a little bit of hops. It smells about like a Belgian tripel. The flavor starts off like a tripel and then you are hit with citrus hops which match up nicely with the fruit flavors. A very enjoyable beer. I wish you could find more beers of this style.

The beer literally explodes out of this bottle. I had to put it in the sink for about 10 minutes until it settled. Pours hazy gold with a thick, white, rocky head. Peppery hops with spice and grass. Very floral. More spice and yeasty funkiness in the taste. Light malt with some sticky fruit and hops in the finish. Strange but refreshingly different as a Belgian outlook on an IPA.

Poured into a flaired tulip glass a froathy white head exploded over the sides of the glass,cloudy,nice golden color, tight streams of very tiny bubbles cascading all up the sides of the glass. Very good retention leaviing a lasting pillowy layer atop the beer with thick chunks of lace down the glass.

Spicy tastes upfront followed by a rush of earthy booziness,yet the booziness is well-played.sweet sugary maltiness with a lingering dry grassy fade.

Light and zesty mouthfeel,very drinkable espesially for the 9.5% had booziness,yet not overbearing and letting all the oter flavors come through,just the way i like it. Could even enjoy this beer and a hot summer day,which I did.A lot going in here wish i had another bottle for this review,will definatly pick more of this one up someday. Thanks to Kwakwhore for the send avalible in my area just never picked and up,but i will be now.